A 6 min read

Is it possible to improve from V82 to V86 in just eight days?

Yes, absolutely and you could do it too! Sounds unbelievable, right? But you better believe it and I’m here to show you exactly how to do it.

With the 4-step strategy that I am going to explain in this article, you will see how you can make the transition from an 80^th percentile score to a 95^th percentile score in less than 10 days.

We have tried and tested this approach across hundreds of students, and through this article, I am going to explain the process to you so that you can benefit from that too

The 80th Percentile: Base Camp of GMAT Excellence:

Imagine your journey to V86 score as an expedition to Mount Everest. Reaching the 80th percentile is like making it to Everest Base Camp. It’s an impressive feat that demands dedication, perseverance, and hard work.

You’ve already outperformed 80% of test-takers, and that’s no small feat. But here’s the thing: pushing beyond that- to the 90th percentile and above? That’s like scaling the summit, and it’s a whole different ball game.

Just as the real challenge of Everest lies between Base Camp and the summit, the jump from 80th to 90th percentile is where things get really tough. It’s not just about putting in more hours or studying harder. Like expert climbers, you need precise planning, specialized techniques, and a strategic approach that’s tailored to those high-altitude conditions. The path gets steeper, the air thinner, and each point is gained through a hard-fought battle.

The 4-Step Strategy: Your GMAT Guide:

Let us see what this strategy is! Before we apply the strategy to your verbal improvement, let us lay down the basic principles of the same:

1.     Identify your Weakness: Understand exactly where you stand and identify the section with the most potential for improvement. This assessment forms the foundation for targeted effort.

2.     Define the topics that need improvement: Once identified, analyze your weakest area thoroughly to identify specific topics or question types that are holding back your score.

3.     Create targeted improvement plans: Develop a tailored, detailed plan of action based on your deep dive. This isn’t about general study tips – it’s about creating a precise roadmap for improvement with specific metrics that will help you achieve an enviable score.

4.     Execute and Track: Put your plan into action and closely monitor your progress. This step involves implementing your strategy and adjusting based on real-time results.

 Now, let us see how this is done!

The 4-Step Strategy in Action:

Step 1: Identify your weakness:

Let’s analyze a real student’s performance snapshot to understand how to identify your weakness:

You can see that I have highlighted:

• Hard questions – these determine your performance at higher ability levels
• Last 20 questions – this gives the most relevant picture of current ability (30 is too many, 10 too few)

In this snapshot, we can see:

• RC: 70% accuracy on hard questions (last 20)
• CR: 55% accuracy on hard questions (last 20)

Current Verbal Score: V82

Where Will Improvement Come From?

Looking at the data:

• RC accuracy at 70% already indicates 90th percentile performance – limited room for improvement because unless you improve in CR, you will not be served sufficient hard questions in RC, limiting the overall score.
• CR accuracy at 55% shows significant potential for growth.

The path forward is clear: focusing on improving CR accuracy is the key to pushing the overall score into the 90th percentile.

Note: For a detailed guide on using hard accuracy to predict ability, refer to my previous article: The Accuracy Dilemma on the GMAT: Why Context Matters?

Step 2: Define the topics that need improvement: Identifying CR as an area for improvement isn’t enough. We need to pinpoint exactly which question types are holding back your score.

Let’s break down CR into four distinct blocks. Here’s the hard accuracy data for each block:

Note here that we are considering the last 10 question accuracy since, at a block level, that gives a good indication:

We can see from this snapshot that:

• Block 2 (Boldface + Assumption) and Block 3 (Weaken, Strengthen, Evaluate) show strong performance
• Block 1 (Inference) and Block 4 (Paradox, Logically Completes, Misc) show significantly lower accuracy

So, it is clear that we need to focus on Blocks 1 & 4 to improve the CR ability. However, this isn’t just about practicing these question types more – it requires a strategic approach to understand why these specific blocks are challenging and how to address those challenges.

Step 3: Create Targeted improvement plans: Let’s demonstrate how to create a hyper-specific improvement plan using Block 1 (Inference) as an example. Here’s how to structure your attack:

Understanding Your Current Performance:

When you see a 40% accuracy rate, don’t jump to conclusions. This could stem from two distinct issues – conceptual gaps or process issues.

Creating Your Action Plan

1. Build a detailed error log for incorrect inference questions. Document each wrong answer, analyze error patterns, identify recurring mistakes, and be specific about your weaknesses.
2. Address knowledge gaps. If your error log reveals conceptual issues, revisit your course materials, but focus only on the specific concepts you’re struggling with – don’t waste time on concepts you’ve already mastered.
3. Practice with 7- 8 Official Guide questions, focusing specifically on fixing the mistakes identified in your error log. This isn’t about solving more questions – it’s about actively working to eliminate your documented weaknesses.
4. Validate using GMAT-like questions of excellent quality to improve your hard accuracy to 70%. 

Next Steps

After successfully improving Block 1:

1. Apply the same process to Block 4.
2. Take a sectional mock test to validate overall improvement.

 
 Here is a hyper-specific improvement plan that we created for one of our students who went on to score V86 on his test!

Total Time Allocation: 22 Hours

Phase 1: Foundation Building (2 Hours, 9% of total time)

• CR Cementing Session: 2 hours
• Focus: Learning how to review CR questions and building error log framework

Phase 2: Block 1 – Inference Improvement (7 Hours, 32% of total time)

1. Error Analysis & Pattern Recognition: 3 hours
2. Conceptual Review: 2 hours
3. Focused Practice: 1 hour (Official Guide)
4. Validation: 1 hour (Custom Quiz)

Phase 3: Block 4 – Paradox & Mixed Questions (7 Hours, 32% of total time)

1. Error Analysis & Pattern Recognition: 3 hours
2. Conceptual Review: 2 hours
3. Focused Practice: 1 hour (Official Guide)
4. Validation: 1 hour (Custom Quiz)

Phase 4: Final Validation & Warm-up (6 Hours, 27% of total time)

1. Cementing Quizzes: 2 hours
2. CR Blocks 2 & 3 Revision: 1 hour
3. RC Revision: 1 hour
4. Final Mock Test: 2 hours

Step 4: Execute and Track: Once the plan is ready, it is just about executing that to reach your target ability level and reach your target score:

As you can see from these images, following the targeted improvement plan shared under step 3, the CR last 20 hard accuracy improved from 55% to 70%.

Now, with the 70% accuracy for hard questions in CR and 75% in RC, you are at V86!

Critical Pitfalls to Avoid on Your V82 to V86 Journey

Before you embark on this intensive improvement journey, let’s address three critical pitfalls that can derail even the most dedicated students.

First, attempting this transformation without allocating a continuous 8-day block is like trying to summit Everest with frequent trips back to base camp – it disrupts your momentum and dilutes your progress. You need not just time, but quality time with a fresh mind during your study hours. Breaking this continuity means constantly rebuilding mental frameworks that could have been solidified through sustained focus.

Second, many students fall into the trap of practicing with questions that are merely difficult rather than representative. Remember, not all hard questions are created equal – they must mirror the sophisticated reasoning patterns you’ll encounter on test day. The GMAT doesn’t test your ability to solve tricky puzzles; it tests your ability to think in specific, predictable patterns.

 Finally, and perhaps most crucially, failing to maintain a behavioral error log can blind you to your own patterns of mistakes. Simply knowing you got a question wrong isn’t enough; you need to understand the mental traps that led you there. Are you not spending enough time reading the conclusion or translating the answer choices in your own words.

Without this deep, behavioral analysis of your errors, you’re essentially trying to improve your golf swing without watching video replays of your form. Each mistake is a data point, and your behavioral error log is the analytical tool that transforms these data points into actionable insights.

Strategy Recap

And there you have it! The roadmap from V82 to V86 in just 8 days! But remember, this isn’t about pulling an all-nighter or cramming more facts into your brain. It’s about smart, targeted improvement, starting by identifying the areas of improvement and then crafting a closed-loop improvement strategy for each of the corresponding areas.

This approach isn’t just theory – we’ve seen it work time and time again. Remember that student who nailed V86? That could be you.

Grab that Hard Accuracy snapshot, dive into your CR blocks, and start climbing. And hey, when you’re standing at the top with that V86+ score, come back and tell us your story. Your journey might just be the inspiration for the next GMAT climber.

Let’s conquer this mountain together!